Wire-fencing machine.



Wu. $40,329. Patented Ian. 2, I909 G. SBHULTZ.

WIRE FENCING MACHINE.

(Application filed. Mar. 30. 1898.)

(No Model.)

Fro.

GUSTAYE SCHULTZ, OF LITCIIFIELD, MINNESOTA.

WIRE FENCING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters ZPatent No. 640,329, dated January 2, 1900. Application filed March 30, 1898. erial No. 675,710, (No model.)

To (all 707mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAVE SCHULTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Litchiield, in the county of Meeker and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful lVireFencing Machine, of which the follow ing is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for laying, winding, and stretching line-wires, and is especially intended for such work on fences of either barbed or plain wire.

The object of my invention is to furnish the farmer with a cheap, simple, durable, and efficient device in the form of a truck with which he can unwind, lay out, and stretch wires in erecting wire fences and also wind up wires when taking down such fences.

With this object in view my invention consists in a machine for the purpose described built in the form of a truck, with an axle, two wheels thereon, a tongue secured rigidly to the axle, an adjustable standard attached near the front end of the tongue, carrying a wheel to support the outer end of the tongue, hooks at the forward end of the tongue to grasp in drawing the truck from place to place and to engage around a post when stretching the wire, two standards rising from the axle, near each end, connected at the top by a crossbar and having downwardly and inwardly inclined notches in their rear edges to receive the pintles or journals of a spool for wire, suitable winding mechanism, and means for holding the spool in the notches.

My invention further consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and afterward specifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention most nearlyappertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in wl1ich- Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a machine constructed in accordance with my invention in position for practical operation. Fig. 2 is a rear end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the plane indicated by the broken line 3 of Fig. 2. Fig.

4 is a similar view on the plane indicated by the broken line 4 4: of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an en larged view of the means for retaining the pintles on the spool of wire in the bearingnotches.

Like letters of reference mark the same parts wherever they occur in the different figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings by letters, A in dicates an axle, upon the ends of which are mounted wheels B B, and from which projects forward the tongue (J, the tongue and axle being braced, as is usual, at D. The tongue 0 is slotted near the front end to receive an upright rod E, provided with a series of perforations E, said rod being adjustably secured in position on the tongue by means of the screw E passing through the tongue and any desired perforation in the bar. The lower end of the bar E is forked and serves as a bearing for the wheel F, upon which the tongue is supported. Double-aru1ed hooks G are secured in the outer end of the tongue and serve for the double purpose of hand holds in drawing the truck and of hooks to engage around fence-posts in the operation of stretching the wire. Uprights H H are mounted on the axle A and connected together at their upper ends by a cross-bar H In their rear edges these uprights H and II are provided with inwardly and downwardly inclined notches I and I, reaching to about the center of the uprights. These notches I receive the pintles or journals J of a roller or spool K of wire. Upon one end of the spool is secured a ratchet-wheel L and at the other end a ratchet-wheel M, the teeth of the ratchet-wheels pointing in opposite directions, and pawls N and O, pivoted to the inside of the uprights, above the spool, engage the teeth of these ratchet-wheels, the pawlh. preventing the turning of the spool in a direction to wind up the wire and the pawl O acting in the opposite direction to prevent unwinding, so that by engaging both pawls with their respective ratchetwheels the spool will be held against turning in either direc-' tion. The pawls N and O are provided with weighted elbow-arms N and O, which will hold the pawls either in or out of engagement, according as they are adjusted. In order to stretch the wire, one of the hooks G may be engaged around a post, when by Winding up the wire it may be stretched to any desired tension. The wire can be also stretched by pulling the truck when both pawls are engaged with the ratchet-Wheels, as before described. To permit of winding wire on the spool, the pawl N is released, and to unwind the pawl O is released, a suitable crank-ban dle P beingprovided for turning the spool.

In order to counteract any tendency of the pintles of the spool to jump out of their bearing-notches, I have provided a latch or bolt Q, provided with a vertical slot Q, through which a screw R passes into the upright H,

the forward end Q of the bolt passing downward across the notch when in its lowermost position, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A pin S in the upright prevents the bolt from being moved by the pintle when the bolt is looked,

as shown.

The construction and operation of my invention will be readily understood from the foregoing, and while I have illustrated and described what I now consider to be efficient means for carrying out my invention, I do clined notches, latches Q slidably mounted above said notches having downwardly-projecting fingers Q lying adjacent to the notches, a winding-drum mounted in the said notches'and carrying ratchet-wheels having oppositely-disposed teeth,and weighted pawls mounted on the uprights above the notches and adapted to engage the above-mentioned ratchet-wheels, substantially as described. GUSTAVE SCHULTZ. Witnesses:

CHAS. H. DART, A. W. SWEET. 

